VFT programs for grades 3-5 encourage close looking, communication, and collaboration using inquiry-based and multimodal strategies. Read about our cross-disciplinary options below.
ELA
Choose Your Own Adventure: Group Narrative Writing
In this VFT, students will view and discuss many works of art from different areas of the NCMA’s permanent collection. Together, students will select artworks that represent key components of a narrative: characters, setting, conflict, and solution, and discuss a possible plot to create a collective story around their chosen works of art.
NCSCoS Connections to English Language Arts and Visual Art
Math
Artists as Real-World Math Problem Solvers
Students will engage with objects from the museum’s collection and explore their uses of geometry, area & perimeter, ratios, and coordinate planes. Students will have the opportunity to solve the mathematical problems that artists, curators, and art handlers might deal with in their everyday jobs. Please have calculators available for students, if necessary. This program comes with an optional Post-VFT Art Kit. Order yours at registration.
NCSCoS Connections to Math, Visual Art, Social Studies, and English Language Arts
Science
Forces & Motion
Students will use all five of their senses to carefully observe three works of art from the NCMA’s permanent collection, looking for evidence of forces that cause objects to move. Students will explore how artists use “tricks” to imply movement in art that doesn’t actually move, comparing that to a kinetic sculpture that does move.
NCSCoS Connections to Science, Visual Art, and English Language Arts
Weather
Students will use all five of their senses to carefully observe three works of art from the NCMA’s permanent collection, looking for evidence of temperature, wind, and precipitation to determine the weather that each artist shows and explore how each weather condition is created.
NCSCoS Connections to Science, Visual Art, and English Language Arts
Social Studies
Animal Masquerades
Using visual analysis, students will examine masks from two different West African cultures featuring animal imagery, and learn about their uses and symbolism. Using what they learned, students will have the opportunity to design animal imagery that represents them.
NCSCoS Connections to Visual Art, Social Studies, and English Language Arts
Discovering Día de los Muertos
In this VFT, students will observe an ofrenda, one aspect of the Mexican celebration of Día de los Muertos and discover how the symbols used in the ofrenda celebrate and remember ancestors while connecting to indigenous Mexican cultural practices shown through museum objects. This program comes with an optional Post-VFT Art Kit. Order yours at registration.
NC SCoS Connections to Visual Art, Social Studies, and English Language Arts
Our State: NC Art & Artists
Students will connect with their state through maps, museum objects about NC by NC Artists, and their own experience to consider how pastimes might be different in the three geographic regions of the state.
NCSCoS Connections to Social Studies, Visual Art, and English Language Arts
The Stories Art Can Tell, feat.
In this VFT, students will explore three works of art from the NCMA’s permanent collection featuring artists from groups that museums have historically excluded or under-represented. Through reading the works by different featured artist groups, students will practice the social emotional learning competencies of self and social-awareness and relationship skills.
feat. Black Artists
Students will “read” works of art from the permanent collection by African American artists and explore how each artist tells a story of Black History through their unique use of art elements and media.
NCSCoS Connections to Social Studies, Visual Art, English Language Arts, and Social Emotional Learning
feat. Indigenous Artists
Students will “read” works of art from the permanent collection by Indigenous North American artists and explore how each artist tells a story of Native American past, present, and future. Students will discover how each artist uses their media and scale to elevate and point to the universality of these stories.
NCSCoS Connections to Social Studies, Visual Art, English Language Arts, and Social Emotional Learning
feat. Latin American Artists
Students will “read” works of art from the permanent collection by Latin American artists and explore how each artist tells a story about their identity through images of place. Please have students come to their session with two pieces of paper each, any color. This program comes with an optional Post-VFT Art Kit. Order yours at registration.
NCSCoS Connections to Social Studies, Visual Art, English Language Arts, and Social Emotional Learning
feat. Women Artists
Students will “read” works of art from the permanent collection by women artists and how each artist tells a story about their own intersecting identities through images of women. This program comes with an optional Post-VFT Art Kit. Order yours at registration.
NCSCoS Connections to Social Studies, Visual Art, English Language Arts, and Social Emotional Learning
Pre-Visit Slideshow for all Art Around the World VFTs
The following slideshow contains images from the museum to prepare your students for their VFT. Questions to guide your students through engagement with the slideshow are located in the speaker notes and apply to both first-time and returning VFT students. Feel free to customize your questioning to students’ interests, your class goals, and the time you have available to spend. Click here for your own copy and access to the speaker notes. If anything comes up in conversation with this slideshow that you would like to share with your facilitator, please send an email to CBrown@ncartmuseum.org at least 2 days before your tour. We look forward to meeting with you and your students during your VFT!
Post-Visit Choice Boards for Art Around the World VFTs
These post-visit choice boards contain resources related to each VFT. Feel free to use any or all of the resources for teachers or students after your VFT is complete. Please be sure to preview all resources to select the ones in part or whole that fit your classroom best.
- Art Around the World: Ancient Sports, Mesoamerican Ballgame
- Art Around the World: Animal Masquerades
- Art Around the World: Discovering Día de los Muertos
- Art Around the World: Gaining STEAM with Ancient Egyptian Artifacts
Specials Classes
Color & Art
Students will explore three works of art from the North Carolina Museum of Art’s permanent collection and discuss color as an element of art. Students will learn how color combinations (color schemes) are chosen by artists, and why they work, as well as how color temperature and saturation are used.
Connections to NCSCoS to Visual Art and English Language Arts
Music & Art
Students will look carefully at two works of art from the museum’s permanent collection and explore the connections between music and visual art through the use of rhythm and notes (whole, quarter, and half) as well as jazz music and musical instruments.
Connections to NCSCoS to Visual Art, Music, Social Studies, and English Language Arts
Mesoamerican Ballgame
Students will examine two different objects from the Ancient Americas collection and think about the role of sports in community. Using what they learned, students will have the opportunity to work together and design their own game, continuing a tradition of community and play.
Connections to NCSCoS to Visual Art, Physical Education, English Language Arts, and International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)
Virtual Field Trips are FREE, interactive experiences, live with a museum educator.
Spanish Language – See our Spanish Language Programs page for more details
Historias que el arte puede contar sobre Artistas Latinos
NCSCoS Connections to World Languages, Visual Art, Social Studies, and English Language Arts
Exploring the Art and Language of Hispanic Artists (bilingual) – Wednesdays only
For native English speakers learning Spanish
For native Spanish speakers learning English